Friday, February 15, 2008

Sometimes It's Okay To Be A Goody-Two-Shoes

Tip Of The Day: A moment of seriousness amidst all my frivolity. The three charities I support – the Arthritis Foundation, the MS Society, and the Lupus Foundation of America – and how you can get involved this March.
Also, my quest for perfection AND a beauty product review.

Tip For The Weekend: Exercise, eat right, get your chores done, and then reward yourself by watching Season 2 of Rock Of Love. Then commend yourself on NOT being a skank. Good job!

Further Elucidation Of My Cheap Deal: As I’ve mentioned before, I have juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (I’m in remission, oh happy day). What you may not know is that I have friends with JRA, friends with MS, and friends with lupus – we’re just one big, happy, auto-immune family. Which is great, if by great you mean ‘sucks rocks.’

What does not suck rocks are the organizations that raise money to support the cause:
1. The Arthritis Foundation,
http://www.arthritis.org/
2. The MS Society,
http://www.nationalmssociety.org/site/PageServer?pagename=hom_gen_homepage
3. The Lupus Foundation of America,
http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html

I try to do what I can to support these organizations that support the lovely people looking for treatments and (please God, some day) cures for auto-immune illnesses. I’ve done the MS Walk a few times, and the JRA March at the MoA. I’ve been a slacker about lupus, but I hope to change that this year.

The JRA March is in March (aren’t we a clever bunch?) on the 8th, and I plan to participate in it this year. If you would like to support me in my marching, please e-mail me at
thecheapchick@gmail.com. I’m talking about making a SMALL donation if you’d like, $1-5 – that’s all. Or good thoughts. Good thoughts are always appreciated and warm the cockles of my heart. Plus, they’re FREE.

OR, you could march in the March yourself. For more information, go here:
http://jam2008.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=253040&lis=1&kntae253040=471953D09237425691B6F285888F9E84

In future posts, I’ll have info on MS and lupus events folks can support. And for everyone with an auto-immune illness, hang in there. The illness may suck, but YOU are FABULOUS.

Now back to the mindless frivolity that is my life.

THE CHEAP CHICK CHALLENGE: According to many people who know more that I do, the best way to make a good-for-you life change is to announce your goal to the general public. The idea is that the more people who know about the goal, the more people there are to keep you accountable. So you stick with the program, or get mocked endlessly.

With that in mind, I am launching an exercise challenge on my blog. Oooooo! Cool new blog feature! And group participation! With prizes and every-thang!

My goal is to exercise, either at home or at the gym, for a minimum of 30 minutes, five days a week, for 3 months. I will post – in a special section, on the right-hand side of the page – whether or not I exercised that day, what I did, and for how long.

At the end of three months, the first person to send me an e-mail (at my Gmail account, not my real estate account) that says, “You have completed the Cheap Chick Challenge” will get a prize. That’s right, a PRIZE. For FREE. Which is BEST.

No, I have no idea what the prize will be. Something cool, and for less than $20.

The challenge will start today, and run until Friday, May 16th. Be on the lookout for my first exercise post this evening (once again, it will be in a special section on the right-hand side of the page). After I’ve worked out. Which, no, I haven’t done yet today.

Brief Product Review: I’ve told you before that I use inexpensive hair products, like Suave and Sunsilk. My reasoning is that you wash most of the stuff out anyway, so why spend a ton on it? Here’s another reason why I like cheap hair stuff – I tend to NOT have an allergic reaction to it.

However, I can not say the same about a certain high-end hair care line (which begins with an M and then a B, but I’m not naming names). Swimmer gave me a mostly full bottle of the-brand-that-shall-remain-nameless’s hair styling cream. I didn’t write about said product, because it costs more than $20 to buy and that goes against my grain.

I can safely announce that even if they dropped the price to 50 cents a case, I will never recommend their product. After 3 weeks use, my head is covered in itchy scabs. Pretty.

What I WILL and DO recommend, however, is the cure for these scabs. I began using Head and Shoulders shampoo and conditioner on Wednesday, and my head already feels better. I am healed!

The cure wasn’t the cheapest in the world – Head and Shoulders costs about $4.50 a bottle at Target. But it works great, smells decent, and leaves my hair super soft. They have about 50 different shampoo and conditioner options, too. Different scents, different functions, etc, but they all contain the oxide stuff that cures what ails you.

If I someday decide to shave my head, ala Britney, I will (once again) have a smooth and lovely scalp to show the world. And it’s SO IMPORTANT to have a nice scalp when I attack the paparazzi’s car with my umbrella. Don’t you agree?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Don't be bashing on Britney, now. We don't bash on the mentally ill. Well, only the mentally ill amongst our friends, and to their faces. And they, of course, bash us right back. But keep Britney out of it. She has enough troubles.

Thank you for drawing attention to some very important causes. My tremor, my weak left-side and my slurred speech thank you.

Shampoo? I can't use cheaper stuff as it actually dries out my hair. Go figure. Damn that hysterectomy!

Anonymous said...

I have MD (muscular dystrophy), so you can add another to the list. Oh joy! It's not auto-immune though, so I feel left out. :-(

Good luck with the exercise! I should join your challenge, I'm too lazy about exercising.

Biolage is my favorite shampoo - to save money, I alternate it with cheaper shampoos (like Herbal Essence's "Break's Over").

Unknown said...

I LOVE your new exercise challenge, making your trainer happy!!!

Unknown said...

Did I mention that I am so jealous that you can work out??? Do a couple of intervals on the ellipse for me.

Anonymous said...

I love the Head & Shoulders, but purchase the generic at either Wal Mart or Target. I have found the generic brand just as wonderful and less than half the price. I think it was $1.83 for the same size the Head & Shoulders that was going for $4 something.